Bill Text: CA AB1041 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Employment: leave.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 748, Statutes of 2022. [AB1041 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1041-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 22, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1041

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Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bauer-Kahan and Ward)
(Coauthor: Senator Wiener)

February 18, 2021

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An act to amend Section 12945.2 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, and to amend Sections 3301, 3302, and 3303 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to employment, and making an appropriation therefor. employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1041, as amended, Wicks. Leave. Employment: leave.

(1) Existing law, commonly known as the California Family Rights Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for any government employer or employer with 5 or more employees to refuse to grant a request by any employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period or who meets certain other requirements, to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period to, among other things, bond with a new child of the employee or to care for themselves or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner, as specified.

This bill would expand the population that an employee can take leave to care for to include any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. a designated person. The bill would define “designated person” to mean a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests family care and medical leave. The bill would authorize an employer to limit designation of a person, as prescribed.

(2) Existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, generally entitles an employee who works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year to paid sick days, as specified, including the use of paid sick days for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee’s family member. Existing law defines “family member” for this purpose to include individuals who share a prescribed relationship with the employee.

This bill would expand the definition of the term “family member” to include individuals related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. a designated person, which, for purposes of these provisions, would mean a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days, subject to limitation by the employer, as prescribed.

(3)Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions.

Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member. Existing law defines terms for its purposes, including “family care leave” and “family member.”

This bill would expand eligibility for benefits under the paid family leave program to include individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The bill would make conforming changes to the definitions of the terms “family care leave” and “family member.”

By authorizing expenditures from the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YESNO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 12945.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12945.2.

 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), to refuse to grant a request by any employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period or who meets the requirements of subdivision (r), to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. Family care and medical leave requested pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to have been granted unless the employer provides the employee, upon granting the leave request, a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave. The council shall adopt a regulation specifying the elements of a reasonable request.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.

(2) “Designated person” means a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests family care and medical leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for family care and medical leave.

(2)

(3) “Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.

(3)

(4) “Employer” means either of the following:

(A) Any person who directly employs five or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.

(B) The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.

(4)

(5) “Family care and medical leave” means any of the following:

(A) Leave for reason of the birth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee.

(B) Leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship designated person who has a serious health condition.

(C) Leave because of an employee’s own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of that employee, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

(D) Leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, as specified in Section 3302.2 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(5)

(6) “Employment in the same or a comparable position” means employment in a position that has the same or similar duties and pay that can be performed at the same or similar geographic location as the position held prior to the leave.

(6)

(7) “FMLA” means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).

(7)

(8) “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.

(8)

(9) “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.

(9)

(10) “Health care provider” means any of the following:

(A) An individual holding either a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, an osteopathic physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2099.5) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, or an individual duly licensed as a physician, surgeon, or osteopathic physician or surgeon in another state or jurisdiction, who directly treats or supervises the treatment of the serious health condition.

(B) Any other person determined by the United States Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services under the FMLA.

(10)

(11) “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

(11)

(12) “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.

(12)

(13) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following:

(A) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility.

(B) Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.

(13)

(14) “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.

(c) An employer shall not be required to pay an employee for any leave taken pursuant to subdivision (a), except as required by subdivision (d).

(d) An employee taking a leave permitted by subdivision (a) may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute, for leave allowed under subdivision (a), any of the employee’s accrued vacation leave or other accrued time off during this period or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer. If an employee takes a leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee may also elect, or the employer may also require the employee, to substitute accrued sick leave during the period of the leave. However, an employee shall not use sick leave during a period of leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, or to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship designated person with a serious health condition, unless mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee.

(e) (1) During any period that an eligible employee takes leave pursuant to subdivision (a) or takes leave that qualifies as leave taken under the FMLA, the employer shall maintain and pay for coverage under a “group health plan,” as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period, commencing on the date leave taken under the FMLA commences, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of the leave. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall preclude an employer from maintaining and paying for coverage under a “group health plan” beyond 12 workweeks. An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this subdivision for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan if both of the following conditions occur:

(A) The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.

(B) The employee’s failure to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that entitles the employee to leave under subdivision (a) or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.

(2) Any employee taking leave pursuant to subdivision (a) shall continue to be entitled to participate in employee health plans for any period during which coverage is not provided by the employer under paragraph (1), employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, pension and retirement plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans to the same extent and under the same conditions as apply to an unpaid leave taken for any purpose other than those described in subdivision (a). In the absence of these conditions an employee shall continue to be entitled to participate in these plans and, in the case of health and welfare employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, or other similar plans, the employer may, at the employer’s discretion, require the employee to pay premiums, at the group rate, during the period of leave not covered by any accrued vacation leave, or other accrued time off, or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, as a condition of continued coverage during the leave period. However, the nonpayment of premiums by an employee shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan.

For purposes of pension and retirement plans, an employer shall not be required to make plan payments for an employee during the leave period, and the leave period shall not be required to be counted for purposes of time accrued under the plan. However, an employee covered by a pension plan may continue to make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan during the period of the leave.

(f) During a family care and medical leave period, the employee shall retain employee status with the employer, and the leave shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan. An employee returning from leave shall return with no less seniority than the employee had when the leave commenced, for purposes of layoff, recall, promotion, job assignment, and seniority-related benefits such as vacation.

(g) If the employee’s need for a leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with reasonable advance notice of the need for the leave.

(h) If the employee’s need for leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable due to a planned medical treatment or supervision, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment or supervision to avoid disruption to the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the individual requiring the treatment or supervision.

(i) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship designated person who has a serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the individual requiring care. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:

(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.

(B) The probable duration of the condition.

(C) An estimate of the amount of time that the health care provider believes the employee needs to care for the individual requiring the care.

(D) A statement that the serious health condition warrants the participation of a family member to provide care during a period of the treatment or supervision of the individual requiring care.

(2) Upon expiration of the time estimated by the health care provider in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the employer may require the employee to obtain recertification, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.

(j) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the employee’s health care provider. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:

(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.

(B) The probable duration of the condition.

(C) A statement that, due to the serious health condition, the employee is unable to perform the function of the employee’s position.

(2) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent recertification regarding the employee’s serious health condition on a reasonable basis, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.

(3) (A) In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided pursuant to this section, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider, designated or approved by the employer, concerning any information certified under paragraph (1).

(B) The health care provider designated or approved under subparagraph (A) shall not be employed on a regular basis by the employer.

(C) In any case in which the second opinion described in subparagraph (A) differs from the opinion in the original certification, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider, designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee, concerning the information certified under paragraph (1).

(D) The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information certified under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and the employee.

(4) As a condition of an employee’s return from leave taken because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires the employee to obtain certification from the employee’s health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Nothing in this paragraph shall supersede a valid collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of that employee.

(k) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, any individual because of any of the following:

(1) An individual’s exercise of the right to family care and medical leave provided by subdivision (a).

(2) An individual’s giving information or testimony as to the individual’s own family care and medical leave, or another person’s family care and medical leave, in any inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.

(l) This section shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until January 1, 1993, whichever occurs first.

(m) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 827 of the Statutes of 1993 shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until February 5, 1994, whichever occurs first.

(n) This section shall be construed as separate and distinct from Section 12945.

(o) Leave provided for pursuant to this section may be taken in one or more periods. The 12-month period during which 12 workweeks of leave may be taken under this section shall run concurrently with the 12-month period under the FMLA, and shall commence the date leave taken under the FMLA commences.

(p) Leave taken by an employee pursuant to this section shall run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, except for any leave taken under the FMLA for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The aggregate amount of leave taken under this section or the FMLA, or both, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, shall not exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided for under this section and the FMLA, the leave provided for in Section 12945, if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.

(q) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.

(r) (1) An employee employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member meets the eligibility requirements specified in subdivision (a) if all of the following requirements are met:

(A) The employee has 12 months or more of service with the employer.

(B) The employee has worked or been paid for 60 percent of the applicable monthly guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period.

(C) The employee has worked or been paid for a minimum of 504 hours during the preceding 12-month period.

(2) As used in this subdivision, the term “applicable monthly guarantee” means both of the following:

(A) For employees described in this subdivision other than employees on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for which an employer has agreed to schedule such employees for any given month.

(B) For employees described in this subdivision who are on reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has agreed to pay such employees on reserve status for any given month, as established in the collective bargaining agreement or, if none exists, in the employer’s policies.

(3) The department may provide, by regulation, a method for calculating the leave described in subdivision (a) with respect to employees described in this subdivision.

(s)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.

SEC. 2.

 Section 245.5 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

245.5.

 As used in this article:

(a) “Employee” does not include the following:

(1) An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly provides for paid sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy that permits the use of sick days for those employees, final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning the application of its paid sick days provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate.

(2) An employee in the construction industry covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and regular hourly pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate, and the agreement either (A) was entered into before January 1, 2015, or (B) expressly waives the requirements of this article in clear and unambiguous terms. For purposes of this subparagraph, “employee in the construction industry” means an employee performing work associated with construction, including work involving alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, improvement, repair work, and any other work as described by Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and other similar or related occupations or trades.

(3) An individual employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member that is subject to Title II of the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.), provided that the individual is provided with compensated time off equal to or exceeding the amount established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 246.

(4) An employee of the state, city, county, city and county, district, or any other public entity who is a recipient of a retirement allowance and employed without reinstatement into the employee’s respective retirement system pursuant to either Article 8 (commencing with Section 21220) of Chapter 12 of Part 3 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, or Article 8 (commencing with Section 31670) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 3 of the Government Code.

(b) “Employer” means any person employing another under any appointment or contract of hire and includes the state, political subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.

(c) “Family member” means any of the following:

(1) A child, which for purposes of this article means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition of a child is applicable regardless of age or dependency status.

(2) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.

(3) A spouse.

(4) A registered domestic partner.

(5) A grandparent.

(6) A grandchild.

(7) A sibling.

(8)Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

(8) A designated person, which, for purposes of this article, means a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for paid sick days.

(d) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.

(e) “Paid sick days” means time that is compensated at the same wage as the employee normally earns during regular work hours and is provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes described in Section 246.5.

SEC. 3.Section 3301 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:

3301.

(a)(1)The purpose of this chapter is to establish, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program. Family temporary disability insurance shall provide up to eight weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship, to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption, or to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(2)Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the rights and responsibilities conveyed under the CFRA or pregnancy disability leave.

(b)An individual’s “weekly benefit amount” shall be the amount provided in Section 2655. An individual is eligible to receive family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of the individual’s weekly benefit amount for each full day during which the individual is unable to work due to caring for a seriously ill or injured family member, bonding with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption, or participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(c)The maximum amount payable to an individual during any disability benefit period for family temporary disability insurance shall be eight times the individual’s “weekly benefit amount,” but in no case shall the total amount of benefits payable be more than the total wages paid to the individual during the individual’s disability base period. If the benefit is not a multiple of one dollar ($1), it shall be computed to the next higher multiple of one dollar ($1).

(d)No more than eight weeks of family temporary disability insurance benefits shall be paid within any 12-month period.

(e)An individual shall file a claim for family temporary disability insurance benefits not later than the 41st consecutive day following the first compensable day with respect to which the claim is made for benefits, which time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause. If a first claim is not complete, the claim form shall be returned to the claimant for completion and it shall be completed and returned not later than the 10th consecutive day after the date it was mailed by the department to the claimant, except that such time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause.

(f)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.

SEC. 4.Section 3302 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:

3302.

On and after July 1, 2014, for purposes of this part:

(a)“Care recipient” means the family member who is receiving care for a serious health condition or the new child with whom the care provider is bonding. For the purposes of a qualifying exigency as set forth in Section 3302.2, “care recipient” also includes the military member, or child or parent of the military member, who is receiving assistance, or the employee who is participating in a qualifying exigency.

(b)“Care provider” means the family member who is providing the required care for a serious health condition; the family member who is bonding with the new child; or the employee who is participating in a qualifying exigency as provided in Section 3302.2.

(c)“Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster son or daughter, a stepson or stepdaughter, a legal ward, a son or daughter of a domestic partner, or the person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.

(d)“Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.

(e)“Family care leave” means any of the following:

(1)Leave to bond with a minor child within the first year of the child’s birth or placement in connection with foster care or adoption.

(2)Leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship, who has a serious health condition.

(3)Leave to participate in a qualifying exigency as provided in Section 3302.2.

(f)“Family member” means child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship, as defined in this section.

(g)“Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.

(h)“Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.

(i)“Military member” means a child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent of the employee, where the military member is on covered active duty or call to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 3302.1

(j)“Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

(k)“Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or a domestic partner.

(l)“Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider, as defined in Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.

(m)“Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.

(n)“Spouse” means a partner to a lawful marriage.

(o)“Valid claim” means any claim for family temporary disability insurance benefits made in accordance with the provisions of this code, and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder, if the individual claiming benefits is unemployed and has been paid the necessary wages in employment for employers to qualify for benefits under Section 2652 and is caring for a seriously ill family member, or bonding with a minor child during the first year after the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.

(p)“Twelve-month period,” with respect to any individual, means the 365 consecutive days that begin with the first day the individual first establishes a valid claim for family temporary disability benefits.

SEC. 5.Section 3303 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:

3303.

(a)On and after July 1, 2014, only if the director makes both of the findings described in subdivision (b), an individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of the individual’s weekly benefit amount on any day in which the individual is unable to perform their regular or customary work because of any of the following:

(1)The individual is bonding with a minor child during the first year after the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.

(2)The individual is caring for a seriously ill child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

(3)The individual is participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(b)An individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits described in subdivision (a) only if the director finds both of the following:

(1)The individual has made a claim for temporary disability benefits as required by authorized regulations.

(2)The individual has filed a certificate, as required by Sections 2708 and 2709, or for purposes of participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, has provided the information requested pursuant to Section 3307.

(c)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.